


Matters of the Heart

by Horns4lyf (TheRex)



Series: Give-aways [1]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Humor, King Alistair, Meeting the Parents, Pre-Relationship, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-07-24
Packaged: 2018-12-06 08:39:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11597013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRex/pseuds/Horns4lyf
Summary: Teagan falls for an elf, and not just any elf. How does a human court an elf? He realises he doesn't know and sets out on a quest to find out.





	Matters of the Heart

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is for the wonderful u/strp from the r/dragonage fic giveaway from Reddit. Hope you like it, darling

They were going to leave Redcliffe for the last time. They were probably heading towards their deaths. Hopefully, Morrigan’s ritual had worked. Hopefully, all of them would come out of this alive. But Ashwen doubted it. Somehow, she knew it would come to this. When Duncan came to the Alienage all those months ago, she somehow knew that this would be her end. She thought about her father, about her mother, about Shianni and Soris… She just hoped she’d do them proud.

“My lady…” The voice made Ashwen jump a bit. She had been so lost in thoughts that she hadn’t noticed anyone approach.

To her surprise, it wasn’t Eamon, Alistair or Riordan who stood behind her. It was Teagan. There was something soft in his eyes and he looked… Worried and sad, in lack of better words. Something appeared in Ashwen’s chest that made her feel a bit teary-eyed.

“Teagan.” She said, swallowing down the lump in her throat. “What can I do for you?”

“I just wanted to thank you on behalf of Redcliffe. You’ve done so much for us, even if you didn’t have to.” He said. “And I want to thank you on a personal behalf. You saved Connor, you saved Isolde, even though there were easier ways to solve the problem. You… I will always remember you. No matter what happens.”

Ashwen felt a blush creep up and she smiled a bit at the human standing before her. What he said was true, she came to realise. She had gone to Redcliffe to speak with Arl Eamon, not really caring about another human village. But she ended up caring about everyone there. About Owen, the blacksmith with a missing daughter. About Kaitlyn and Bevin. And about Teagan. There was something about him that spoke to her.

“It’s… You don’t have to thank me.” She insisted before giving him a lopsided smile. “Just doing my job.”

“Anyway, thank you.” Teagan gave a small bow. “I’ll let you rest.”

“Wait, Teagan.” Ashwen grabbed his wrist without really thinking about it. Before she could stop herself, she reached up to peck Teagan on the cheek. “Thank you for all your help.”

It was Teagan’s turn to blush now.

“It’s, erm, it’s fine.” He coughed a bit before smiling at her. “Good luck, my lady.”

* * *

“This is not funny, Alistair.” Teagan bristled. “I mean, Your Highness.”

“Oh, but it is, Teagan.” Alistair snickered a bit. “Teagan and Aswhen sitting in a tree-”

Maker, to think that this was man was now the king of Ferelden. Teagan rubbed his forehead and tried to remember what foolishness had caused him to go to Denerim in order to ask King Alistair on how to court an elf. And not just any elf. The Hero of Ferelden. Teagan knew his brother-in-law’s son was close friends with Ashwen Tabris.

“This was a mistake.” Teagan sighed and rubbed his forehead.

“Well, I can tell you that roses doesn’t make her swoon and she’s licked a few lampposts.”

Teagan blinked at the blond man in front of him. Had the stress of being king gotten to Alistair’s head and he had gone utterly insane? Teagan couldn’t really find any other explanation for whatever just came out of his mouth.

“I… See.” Teagan cleared his throat.

“Alright, I’ll be serious for a moment.” Alistair took a sip from the goblet in front of him. “She’s a good woman, Teagan. She’s a bit strong-willed and can be a bit of a pain, but she’s kind and caring. She’s a very good friend. We haven’t talked a lot about elves, to be honest. But she loves her people, especially her father. Oh, come to think of it, you could talk to him! His name is Cyrion Tabris and he lives in the Alienage. He’s a good man. He made a really nice pie when we went to visit him.”

“I might do that.” Teagan nodded. “Thank you for your time, Your Highness.”

Teagan bowed as he stood up to leave. It was still a bit awkward to bow to the man. To Teagan, Alistair would always be the small blond boy with muddy knees and a knack for mischief.

“Oh, and Teagan?” Alistair said as Teagan had almost reached the door. When Teagan turned around to look at Alistair, there was a new, hard look in the younger man’s eyes. “She’s a close friend. If I found out you’ve made her upset, I’ll throw you in the dungeon.”

And that was not an idle threat. For the first time, Teagan saw King Alistair, a man with all the power in the world.

* * *

Teagan had never been in the Alienage. He had lived in Redcliffe for so long and there were no elves there. He had heard stories about Alienages, but had never actually seen one. It was a lot dirtier than he had thought. Children without shoes ran around the streets that were lined with various kinds of litter. Mangy cats could be seen in the corners and a lot of the houses seemed to be in various states of dilapidation.

The Tabris house was nicer than it seemed from the outside. It was small, but nice. It was warm, clean and smelled of herbs.

Cyrion Tabris was an older man. His hair was grey and there were wrinkles around his mouth and eyes. Teagan noticed that there wasn’t even a hint of a stubble on his chin and wondered if elves could even grow beards. Come to think of it, he had never seen an elf with a beard.

“It’s not everyday we have a noble here.” The man smiled as he placed two cups on the table. It was a tired, but kind smile. “The last time was when Ashwen was here with King Alistair. A good man, that. He’s done a lot for us here.”

“That he is.” Teagan nodded in agreement.

“Have you ever been in an Alienage before?” Cyrion asked as he poured tea into the two cups. There wasn’t any judgement in the question, he simply sounded curious.

“I can’t say I have, no.”

“Well, then this must be quite a shock to you.” To Teagan’s surprise, the other man chuckled. “Anyway, I still don’t quite understand why you’re here. You say you’re a friend of Ashwen?”

“Yes.” Teagan nodded as he brought the cup to his face. It smelled… Nice. Buying himself some time, he took a sip, scolding his lips in the process. “I was wondering…”

“Yes?” Cyrion raised his eyebrows after taking a seat.

There was no other way to do this. Teagan would just have to come out with it. He couldn’t beat around the bush the whole day. The man in front of him probably had more important things to do than sit and listen to Teagan stutter out that he was in love with the elf’s daughter.

“I’m interested in Alienage courting customs.” Teagan managed to keep his voice level.

Cyrion just blinked at him a few times. The older man’s gaze was surprisingly piercing and Teagan felt a blush creep up his neck. Dammit, he was a grown man, not some kind of blushing maiden. It shouldn’t be this awkward to admit that he had feelings for a woman. But, then again, this was her father, not one of his friends over a pint of ale.

“Courting customs?” Cyrion said slowly, seemingly doing his best to gather himself. “I… I see. What do you want to know?”

“Well, if someone has feelings for another in the Alienage, how do you go about it?”

“Hm, it varies from Alienage to Alienage. But nowadays, it’s mostly arranged marriages to bring in new blood… Our whole lives are dedicated to surviving. Very few Alienage elves get the chance to actually live… And I forced my daughter into that whole game as well. I thought that would be best for her.”

Cyrion suddenly looked utterly defeated and seemed to have aged about ten years in ten seconds. Tegan felt a lump appear in his throat. They heard such strange things about elves outside the Alienage and Teagan had never really thought about them too much. He had never entertained the idea that they were struggling.

“Ah, look to me, wallowing in my sorrow.” Cyrion forced a smile. “You didn’t come here to listen to an old man’s melancholy. What I can tell you is this: Ashwen is a good woman with a big heart. She might not show it, but it’s true. Show her that you care about her. That’s all you have to do. She’s never been big on customs anyway.”

* * *

It was early evening and Ashwen had escaped her duties as Warden-Commander to get a few moments to herself. Her head was still spinning from everything that had happened the last few weeks. It seemed like she was never going to rid of the stupid darkspawn. They just returned, time and time again to mess up her life. And frankly, she was tired of it.

But for now, Amaranthine was safe, the Keep was completely messed up and everything was relatively under control. She did her best to stay in the present and not think about the past, or the future.

It was a lovely night, which was why Ashwen had decided to take a little walk. She needed these moments to herself to stay sane. This evening, she had brought a small bottle of fruity wine and a few apples. She was going to have a little picnic on her favourite hill and watch the sunset. It was just a few minutes outside the city, but far enough that she could pretend she was in the middle of a calm forest.

Letting out a happy sigh, she sank down into the soft grass and stretched out her legs. Her long, red hair was being tousled by the gentle breeze and she removed her coat. It was warm enough for her to be without it.

But just as she had grabbed one of the apples, the peace was interrupted by heavy footsteps. After living more than a year constantly on watch, Ashwen flew up and grabbed her daggers which she never left far away, preparing to defend herself. But when she saw who stood there, she immediately relaxed before becoming a bit confused.

It wasn’t a darkspawn, a high dragon or a highwayman who appeared. No, it was Bann Teagan, of all people. His hair was a bit shorter than it had been the last time she saw him, but otherwise, he looked like he had done when they said goodbye all those weeks ago in Redcliffe.

If she was honest, she hadn’t expected to see him again. She thought he would just be one of the people who passed through her life during the Blight. Like Arl Eamon, Isolde or Irving. But there he stood, with his red hair and kind eyes.

“Teagan.” She said, the shock evident in her voice. “I… I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“You’re a tricky woman to track down.” Teagan sounded a bit breathless after the climb up the hill. “But I’m glad I did.”

Ashwen raised an eyebrow and tilted her head. It was first now that she realised Teagan was holding a bouquet of flowers. From the looks of it, it was a bouquet of Andraste’s Grace.

The human cleared his throat and straightened up a bit, holding out the flowers.

“I-I wanted to tell you that I think you’re a formidable woman and an example to all of us. You’ve shown the world that elves are just as capable as humans, if not more. You saved all of Ferelden. You saved my family and you saved me. You… You mean a lot to me, even if we don’t know each other very well. But I would like to get to know you better.”

Ashwen hadn’t really noticed that a ridiculous smile had appeared on her face. For the first time since meeting Duncan, she felt some kind of childish joy. Butterflies appeared in her stomach and something seemed to swell in her chest. Teagan liked her. Teagan had brought her flowers. Oh Maker…

“Oh, Teagan.” Ashwen took the flowers from him. “I’d like that too.”

“You do?” Teagan was now sporting his own smile. “That- That’s fantastic.”

The two of them smiled at each other for a while, before Ashwen turned away her gaze in an attempt to stop herself from blushing.

“So, uh…” She gestured at her interrupted picnic. “I have some wine and was planning to watch the sunset. Do you want to join me?”

A while later, when Ashwen’s head was leaned against Teagan’s shoulder and they were looking out at the setting sun, she couldn’t help but feel hopeful. Perhaps things would be alright, after all. Perhaps she could be happy as well. Perhaps she could think about her own happiness for once.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos sustain me <3


End file.
